'Six-hitting not natural, outcome of hard work'

Shreyas Iyer was India's highest run-getter (243) in the Champions Trophy win, leading the way by controlling middle overs, scoring on the slow, challenging pitches in Dubai.

- Rasesh Mandani

MUMBAI: Shreyas Iyer was India's highest run-getter (243) in the Champions Trophy win, leading the way by controlling middle overs, scoring on the slow, challenging pitches in Dubai. In this interview, he talks about how it happened.

Excerpts:

Would you say your Champions Trophy runs were even more special than the 530 you made in the 2023 ODI World Cup? Certainly. Compared to the World Cup, the Dubai wickets were more challenging because the ball was turning a lot. It was also stopping a bit. It wasn't easy to pace the innings and manoeuvre singles. You could see it from the runs we were getting on board. The par score was 260.

You batted with intent and brought out the sweep too.

Can you talk about the options you used? In my role as No.4, it was essential to keep the momentum alive and build the innings after getting the starts we wanted. I understood my role was to create a partnership and build a platform for the team. Thankfully, I was able to execute and that's because my preparations were on point and practice sessions intense.